Thirteen films from the Arab world will compete for various funding prizes at Dubai Film Festival this year, between December 9-11. (Diff runs between December 7-14 at Madinat Jumeirah.)
Prizes include $10,000 (Dh36,726) from Cinescape/Front Row Award, $10,000 from the ART Award, $25,000 from the Dubai International Film Festival and €5,000 (Dh20,447) from International Organisation of La Francophonie.
The thirteen titles are A Girl Made of Dust by Hiam Abbass (Lebanon), Algeria Is Still Far Away by Omar Haffaf (Algeria/France), Farha by Darin Sallam (Jordan), From A Palm Tree to the Stars by Leila Al Bayaty (Iraq/France), Haifa Street by Mohanad Hayal (Iraq), In The Land Of Wonder by Nadine Khan (Egypt), Life = Cinematic Imperfections by Avedis Kaprealian (Syria/Lebanon), The Great Family by Eliane Raheb (Lebanon), The Treasure by Abdellah Taia (Morocco/France), Touda by Daoud Aoulad Syad (Morocco), The Son of a Very Important Man by Najwa Najjar (Palestine), The Notebooks by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Lebanon) and Western Arabs by Omar Jarl Shargawi (Denmark, Egypt and Palestine).
Dubai Film Connection (DFC), the Arab-focused, co-production platform of the Dubai Film Market, announced the films on Monday.
“It is really fulfilling to be able to provide rewarding prospects to the talented producers from the Arab world, contributing to the future of the filmmakers as individuals and the flourishing industry as a whole,” said Jane Williams, director at DFC.
Five top filmmakers will be chosen by a jury of industry professionals over the course of two days. The shortlisted directors will then be accredited for Cannes Film Festival’s Producers Network, a prominent global film market.
Diff registration for professionals is now open. Film ticket packages (10 for Dh275, 25 for Dh550, and a red carpet package with seven gala tickets for Dh500) are available at diff.ae.
